Connemara magic is just what the doctor ordered!

Independent musicians tend to be hard-working and resourceful, but singer/songwriter Eylül Taneri has to be particularly adept at managing her time. Three years ago, she moved to Galway from her home in Turkey, where she had practiced as a medical doctor.  Now stationed in the University of Galway, Eylül is working as a postdoctoral researcher. Alongside those commitments, she is devoting any spare time she can find to her music. Since 2020, she has released six singles – the latest of which is an ode to its titular location, Connemara.

“I always wanted to be in academia,” Eylül says. “Engaging in academic things and doing research is really a part of my life and I really love doing it. But I was always filled with love for music. I always sang songs – trying to write for years. I released my first single in 2020 and since then I’m releasing singles as an independent artist. I’m just trying to reach people because it is not easy when you’re independent.”

Eylül has always written songs, but the string of releases that have followed her to Ireland are breaking new ground. She found it more difficult to facilitate recording at home.

“It is a bit costly,” she says. “In Turkey, it is a bit harder to create so here, I made it work. I’m working to make music. I wrote my first song when I was eight years old for my grandfather. He was angry about something, so I wrote a song about it. Of course it was very childish – ridiculous. But whenever I was having hard times in my life [since then], it was relaxing. Kind of a therapy. Putting feelings into melodies and words.”

Connemara itself came from one of those difficult moments. On instinct, Eylül travelled out west to get away from a bad situation and found comfort in the nature and landscape. She had visited the area before in a tourist capacity and not experienced the same “calmness”, but this trip gave her the full experience. On the recording itself, she was eager to convey the sound and feel of the place through field recordings and considered instrumentation.

Pictured: Eylül Taneri...pictured with Kylemore Abbey in the background.